The Shukumei Clan of Konoha
by Shimofurii Yukito
Summary: The Shukumei Clan are one of the most famous in Fire Country. What happens when the clan is killed by cloudnin and four survivors are left? Will the clan fall apart after a tragic betrayal? Or will they survive, and live to see another morning? On hold...
1. Introduction:The Shukumei Clan

I don't own Naruto, if I did, I wouldn't be sitting here typing this, now would I?

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The Shukumei Clan is a clan with its own Kekkai Genkai, the Tetsugan. The Tetsugan has the ability to see all 360 degrees like the Byakugan, with no blind spots, but it can't see _through_ anything. It also has the ability to copy any Kekkai Genkai, but this particular ability is a double-edged sword, as when you copy a Kekkai Genkai, you're stuck with it. Forever. You can't copy any others, but you can use the one you copied like you belong to that clan. However, you retain the ability to see all 360 degrees when you want to. The Tetsugan looks like swirls of black and gray on a white background, but for the Nine Chosen, it may change color.

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This is like an introduction, but I will write longer chapters later! 


	2. Chapter 1:Attack

I don't own Naruto, if I did, I wouldn't be here typing fanfiction, now would I?

Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I got swamped with something known as "homework" and got grounded a few times. Very annoying.

Ah and by the way, Kaida, Kohaku, Akumi and Jitoru are quadrupulets. Kaida is the oldest, and Jitoru is the youngest. They're 14 and a half years old

Thanks to those who review, your comments are appreciated!.

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"Hey, you guys, want to go train? Since we've been excused from helping setting up camp, there's nothing else to do," asked Kaida to her sisters.

"Yeah, okay, sure. Just let me tell Mom," replied Akumi.

"I guess so," said Kohaku."How troublesome..."

"If you guys go, there's nothing to do! I'm in," said Jitoru.

They walked toward the edge of the forest, stopping to tell their mom, then searched for a place to train. 5 minutes later...

"I found a clearing over there!" said Akumi breathlessly, her eyes going from a very dark brown to Tetusugan and back.

"Stop that," said Kohaku irritatedly. "You know very well that annoys me. Stop it-AKUMI!!!!! I'm older than you-listen to me!"

Akumi stuck out her tongue at her sister. "You're only older by 2 minutes, 32 seconds."

"Why you-"

"Stop arguing," said Jitoru. "Akumi, stop flashing your Tetusugan, Kohaku, stop asserting the fact that you're older, it's very tiresome. Let's go. Kaida?"

Kaida had watched, smirking. "Ready? Race you!"

Kohaku grinned. "You're on!"

Jitoru rolled her eyes and leapt after them.

"Hey! No fair-you guys had a head start!" complained Akumi.

Kaida turned. "You snooze, you lose! Hurry up!"

When they got there(Kaida won), they split up into pairs to spar-Kaida and Kohaku(despite Kohaku's protests that she wanted to fight Akumi) and Akumi and Jitoru. It was neccesary, as for some odd reason, each girl was good at a different element-Kaida, fire; Kohaku, water; Akumi, earth; Jitoru, wind. Kaida had to pratice learning how to fend off water attacks, and had developed a special fire jutsu that couldn't be put out by water. Kohaku was enhancing her water jutsus. Akumi made huge towers of earth rise, and Jitoru tried blowing them down. They were all pretty evenly matched.

After a break, Akumi and Jitoru went back to sparring, and Kaida and Kohaku started some weapons pratice.Kaida attempted to hit 8 targets around the clearing without hitting her sisters, firing 3 kunai at a time, never allowing more than 5 seconds between each throw. Kohaku, meanwhile, tried to knock them out of the air.

They noticed when the shadows grew long and when the sun began setting. They took a quick rest(no longer than about 10 minutes or so, but it was enough) and started wondering about the fact that their mother hadn't sent someone, specifically, either their cousins Maemi or Shiori, to tell them to go back.

"Weird...the way Mom is, she'd have called us back, or sent Shiori or Maemi..." commented Kaida.

"Yeah...and Shiori's not the type to hide in the bushes to try to scare us, besides, we'd have sensed her," added Kohaku.

"Maybe Mom forgot? Nah, she'd never, not her 'little quadruplets',"said Akumi.

"Hm...? Shush, you guys-I sense someone else, approaching at a really fast speed, I think's it's Shiori," said Jitoru.

"Shiori?" asked Kaida and Kohaku at the same time.

"It's about time...you sure?" asked Akumi.

Jitoru gave her a look. "I'm sure I'm sure, Akumi. Am I ever wrong?"

Akumi looked at the sky. "We-ell..."

Jitoru sighed. "Forget I asked. Hey, Shiori! News? Does our mom want us back yet, or..."

A little girl (about Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi's age) leapt to the ground from a nearby tree. Her tangled hair was in a complete mess, tied back with a blue ribbon. Her face was streaked with blood, dirt and tears, and she had several bruises and cuts, as well as a broken wrist. In other words, she looked pretty beat up, which was unlike Shiori.

"Shiori! What happened to you?" asked Kohaku, concerned.

"Never... mind that," panted Shiori. "Kumo-nin... are attacking the camp...I was sent to tell you... to come back and...help...cause you guys are...almost all we have left... that stands any chance against them..."

"Wha-" started Kaida.

Kohaku cut her off. "We'll follow you, Shiori. Guys, let's go! Let's ask questions later, there'll be time. We've wasted enough as it is, c'mon!" She looked at her siblings. They nodded. Jitoru quickly healed Shiori's wrist, and they leapt into the trees.

By the time they got to the makeshift battlefield, there were very few Shukumei Clan members left, and a lot more cloud ninja. For every Shukumei Clan member, there were five cloud ninja. Their mother came over.

"Shiori, Maemi needs help, she's been holding the cloud nin since you went, but now she's in trouble," Shukumei Mikoto ordered. Shoiri nodded and left to help her best friend/cousin. "Girls, guard these scrolls-" she gave them each three scrolls- "with your life, they hold all the secrets of our clan, as well as the purpose of the Tetusugan. If...the rest of the clan doesn't make it, it will be all you four have left of the Shukumei Clan. I'm counting on you. Now, fight to save our clan!"

They nodded, and their mother went back to their father, just as twenty cloud ninja attacked them. They smiled at each other, then formed their usual back-to-back teams: Kohaku and Kaida, Akumi and Jitoru, then took control of their elements: Akumi manipulated rocks and kunai at random cloud nin, Kohaku drowned them without making a mess or a flood, Kaida burned them, also without a mess, and Jitoru swept them into the direction of her sisters' attack if they tried running, but after a while, they got tired and their defenses started failing, amd they started getting hurt. Near them, their mother and father fell. Kaida, having just killed her opponent, let out a anguished cry and sent a fireball at her parents' killer. The bad thing was, she left Kohaku's back unprotected.

Kohaku yelped as she got a gash in her shoulder, and Kaida, turning back to her sister, got a gash in her shoulder, too, along with several kunai in her back. Akumi and Jitoru were not doing that well, either. They were easily the only ones left. Slowly but surely, they got seperated, until they were in different parts of the forest.

"I have to use it, if I don't, I'll die..." murmered Kaida.

"I'm using it, I hope Kaida, Akumi, and Jitoru are using it too..." muttered Kohaku.

"Okay, this is definetly time to use it..." thought Akumi.

"Oh, god...there are too many...I really don't want to be forced to use it..." whispered Jitoru.

flashback 3 years ago...

The girls are lying on a hillside, having perfected a jutsu that knocked them unconcious, for emergencies.

"Let's use our new jutsu when we're outnumbered," suggested Kohaku.

"Nah, we can use that other jutsu when we're outnumbered..." said Akumi.

"Okay, let's use it when we're seperated and outnumbered," amended Kohaku. "Oh, and severely hurt, too. There's no reason to use it if we're unharmed."

Akumi looked at her sister."Kohaku, congrats. You just said something smart."

"Gee, thanks,"replied Kohaku sarcastically. "We're using my idea, right?

"Yeah," said Jitoru.

"Hn...why not," said Kaida.

"Okay, it's agreed. We'll use it as a last resort, in other words," said Akumi.

end flashback

At the same time, Akumi, Kohaku and Kaida performed the hand signs and activated the jutsu, falling unconcious. Jitoru was half a minute too late and was captured by the cloud nin.

"Heh...looks like this little kitty's the last one alive...she put up quite a fight, how many did she kill?"

"About 50..."

"Good..." was the last thing she murmered before they knocked her out.

Her sisters, unconcious, lay in the forest...

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Well, that's the first chapter. Sorry it's so late, but I hope you enjoyed it...read and review, please!


	3. Chapter 2: Discovery

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never have, and probably never will. Got it???

This is the chapter in which the girls get found, and it lists a full description of their condition and where they're found, so if you don't like blood, or bloody situations, skip the descriptions.

Also, thanks to all my reviewers, you guys are the best!

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Three in the morning, Sasuke's place 

"SASUKE-TEME!!!!! Wanna come training with me? I want to spar you! C'mon, it'll be _fun_!!!!" yelled Naruto.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes and glared at his former teammate. It didn't look like his hyperactive teammate had changed much during all the time he had been with Otogakure. Hadn't two years, eleven months been enough for Naruto to _calm down_?! Besides, he'd been training until two, and just fell asleep. "You baka! At three in the morning, _normal_ people, including shinobi, sleep unless it's an village emergency. Sleep is a neccesity, even if it wastes time."

Naruto shrugged. He'd been thinking about the miso ramen he'd had for breakfast and the pork ramen he was going to have for lunch. Ramen was good..."Oh, and we can have ramen for lunch afterwards, my treat! Are you coming"

"No, I'm not. Clueless dobe," muttered Sasuke.

"Hey! I'll--I'll--"

"Yes, you'll what?" asked Sasuke, amused. He already knew the anwser, but it was still fun to annoy Naruto.

"I challenge you! After lunch," yelled Naruto.

"Whatever. Baka. Why not fight here and now?" challenged Sasuke.

"Because I'm going training!"

"What, by yourself?"

"Yup! Ero-sennin isn't here."

"Whatever. Meet you at Ichiraku's, after lunch. Bye."

Sasuke steered Naruto out of his rather big house. Naruto cheerfully waved, then left. Back at his house, Sasuke sighed and put his head in his hands. Hardly ten minutes had passed before he was asleep in his chair.

* * *

With Naruto

Naruto went to the forest. "Hmm, where to go, where to train?" he asked the Kyubi sealed inside him. (The Kyubi's nicer now, and shares Naruto's senses(you know, see, smell, taste, hear, etc,)whenever he feels like it.)

"I smell a lot of blood over there, why don't you try there?" asked Kyubi, grinning evilly.

Naruto frowned at him. "Why?"

"There might be survivors, if a battle ocurred. Duh."

"Oh. Okay." Naruto ran toward the direction Kyubi indicated."When I'm talking to you, do you think people think I'm crazy?"

"...Yes. But if you don't want people to think you're crazy, then you might just want to think your comments. I'll still hear you. "

"Yeah, but...what if I don't want you to hear me think?"

"...Baka. If you don't want me to hear you, then don't direct thoughts at me!"

Naruto sighed. His head hurt now, and a bowl, no, ten bowls of pork ramen were sounding very good right now. "How much longer?"

"Ummm...three minutes and counting..."

"Good. Don't talk to me."

"..."

3 minutes later...at the clearing where Kohaku is...

"Whoa, what happened?!" yelled Naruto. "Kyubi, d'ya know?"

"You _did_ tell me not to talk to you..." muttered Kyubi dryily.

"Whatever. You may talk to me now. What happened?"

"And..._I_ would know that how?"

Naruto sighed. "You're no help, don't talk to me."

"Whatever...can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah...sure...why not."

Naruto sensed a faint chakra signiture. It came from a girl with light purple hair. Her clothes were all bloody and looked as if it had been tie-dyed in dirty blood. There were scratches on her face, and her mouth looked as if she had coughed out blood earlier. Around her were dead cloud ninja, weapons and scrolls, all bloody. Mostly with their blood, not the girl's.

"Whoa...she's pretty beat up...did she cause this?"wondered Naruto. "If she did, she must be pretty powerful. And cute, too. I wonder if she likes ramen. What'd you think, Kyubi?"

"Maybe we should get her to Konoha hospital?" asked Kyubi dryily.

"Oh! Right." Naruto picked up Kohaku bridal style and ran off to the village hospital. "Tsunade-sama and Sakura-chan will know what to do!"

"Wow...I wonder how you figured _that_ out," muttered Kyubi. But still, he couldn't help giving the unconcious girl in Naruto's arms a curious glance.

* * *

Near Kiba's house, toward the forest, at about the same time Naruto first saw Kohaku...

"Hey, Akamaru! You ready to go?" asked Inuzuka Kiba in a very loud whisper to his ever-faithful friend and companion. He didn't shout, since his mom and sister liked sleeping late. The last time he'd woken them up...um, never mind.

Akamaru barked. "Okay, then. C'mon!" whispered Kiba. Together they ran, not stopping until they reached the forest. Once they were in the forest, Kiba yelled, "Woooohoooooo!!!!!" It was great to be loud. Akamaru barked agreement. And so they went on happily. Suddenly, Akamaru raised his head and barked.

"Huh? You smell a really strong blood smell? Weird, I can't...oh wait. Yaaaaahhhhh!" In his surprise at suddenly scenting a really strong blood smell, Kiba fell off the branch he was on. He landed in a shallow pool of blood and got up rather unsteadily, then looked at the stuff he was now covered with. "Ow, my head...whaaaa???? What happened?!" He was looking at a mini-battlefield. Akamaru cringed, whining.

The little clearing was worse than the one where Kohaku was found. Deadly weapons littered the ground and surrounding trees, and blood was splattered everywhere, including the highest branches. A girl with black hair lay in the center, surrounded by two other girls and boys. Surrounding the five teenagers were dead cloud nin. Akumi was also wounded badly, with deep cuts and possibly a broken bone or two, and coughed up bood. But overall, the blood was mostly the kumo-nin's, not the kids'.

"Wow...we'd better notify Tsunade-sama of this immediately. Wait, before that-Akamaru, is anyone alive?"

Two short barks, one long bark. Pause. A yip, then a whine.

"Who?"

Three yips and two short barks.

"Oh, her! The cutest one. The very cutest one. Let's get her to the hospital. Ready, Akamaru? Let's go!" said Kiba as he picked up Akumi bridal style, much like Naruto. They shot into the trees and headed for Konoha, Akamaru cautiously sniffing around in case whoever attacked Akumi decided to come to finish what they started.

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With Sasuke

Sasuke yawned and kept walking toward the forest. He'd woken up a hour after Naruto left, but he was still tired. _I wonder if Naruto's still training in the forest?_ he wondered. _If he is, I can sneak up on him and pay him back for the time he woke me up this morning. Let's see..._

His Sharingan activated without his knowing it. Two crimson orbs, flecked with three tomoe in each eye. Occasionally they reverted to Mangekyou, something he had acquired in his 'stay' at Otogakure, and he now had unconcious control of his Sharingan, which was better than what Itachi ever did with his Sharingan. His eyes darted here and there constantly, searching. Until they found a clearing with a clear stream beside it. He landed in the middle of the clearing, startling some field mice. "Sorry..." he mumbled, trying to locate the faint chakra signature. There originally were four, but since three of the people whom the chakra belonged to had left the forest, he decided to track the fourth one. It didn't belong to anyone he knew.

His path took him to a bloodstained clearing where most of the Shukumei Clan were killed. Sasuke took a step back, his stomach threatening to hurl back up its contents. This was too much like his own clan's murders. Way, waaaay too much. Why had he come here in the first place? Oh yeah. That foreign chakra signature. So where was it? "That girl..." he murmered. The one near the center of the clearing. The one with raven-colored darker than his own, though you couldn't really tell at the moment. Her clothes were ripped and bloodstained, deep cuts, as if someone had thrown multiple kunai there, and had a very long, pretty deep, gash diagonal-wise on her back._She's actually very pretty. The ones without Kumogakure hitai-ate, they must be part of the same clan... Are _all_ of them dead? I really hope not..._ Then what he had said about the girl came crashing back to him. _I said a girl was pretty. Uchiha Sasuke. Said a girl was pretty. Something's wrong here..._ He shook the strange thoughts out of his mind. That wasn't the thing to think about at thee moment. _Her hair's even darker than mine... I wonder what color her eyes are? _Stop think about her, and get her to the hospital!

"Okay, okay..." he muttered. He picked up Kaida the same way Naruto and Kiba had picked up Kohaku and Akumi, trying to keep his face emotionless and blush-free. She was the first girl he'd actually liked. When he'd told Sakura that his feelings for her were only sisterly, she'd cried a little, but now she was happy, with Lee. But then, she'd never really been one of his fan girls. He debated using a teleportation jutsu, but then, he still didn't have _perfect_ chakra control the way Sakura had, and the excess might hurt her. The chances were minimum, but it wasn't a chance he was willing to take.

He shot off into the trees, headed for Konohagakure. His crimson eyes watched the forest.

* * *

Sunagakure, Lord Kazekage's office

"Gaara...can I come in?" Temari called.

Gaara nodded, forgetting his door was closed at the moment. Then, realizing his mistake, he said, "Yeah...come in, Temari-nee-san."

Temari opened the door, walked in, and stood in front of him."Gaara, I just came back from patrol, and there's something I saw that you should know about. "

"Really?" Gaara's face remained emotionless, but his tone held a trace of interest in it. "What?"

"Near the north-east border, heading toward Otogakure, Kumogakure, Amegakure, or Kusagakure. A shinobi team, carrying a...box,"answereed Temari. "As far as I know, they don't have permission to be anywhere near the Land of Wind or Sunagakure. Unless you've authorized them to be there??"

Gaara threw her a slighty withering look. "As if. No. I didn't. How big was the box, and what villge were the mysterious shinobi from?"

Temari stuck out her tongue at her little brother, knowing he wouldn't hurt her. Even if he _is_ Kazekage, he's still my little brother! "Remember when Sasuke left Konoha, and we went to go help Team Shikamaru"-blushes-"to get him back? Sasuke was in a box for the most part, remember? That big. And the shinobi were from Kumogakure. 'Kay?"

Gaara ignored the tongue-sticking part of of his sister's answer. "Hmm...interesting. If there is a _person_ inside the box, then this may be serious indeed...if Orochimaru has found a person with an ability better than even Uchiha's Sharingan, then...the consequences may be...to say the least, ...destructive. I don't think they violated my specific orders and the treaty, too, just to pick mushrooms, and put them inside a box this big. Besides, there are mushrooms aplenty in Kumogakure. Get Kankuro, and tell him to meet me here. Stat."

Temari inclined her head, all jokes abandoned. This was no laughing matter, and they had to be serious. "Yes, Gaara."

"Dismissed." Gaara watched her run out of his office, then vanished himself to tell his council that he had to check on something potentially dangerous to their village. Their reaction was, to say the least, ...interesting. Very interesting. In fact, if the situation wasn't urgent, it would have been extremely hilarious. To sum it up, Gaara's council flipped out.

"Whaaaat??!! Gaara-sama, you can't, you have paperwork piled up to the ceiling!"

"Gaara-sama, there are reports of the Suna Shinobi Academy for you to read, there is this one kid---"

"You can't go, ---"

And so on. Gaara shut them up with his sand, then turned to go. "I'm going now, please take care of the village for me. Temari will take care of the mountain of paperwork, if there even is one. Sayonara!"

"Mmmph!"

Too late, he had vanished already. When he arrived at his office, his siblings were there already. "Konnichiwa, Kankuro-nii-san, Temari-nee-san. Temari, I assume you briefed Kankuro on this mission?"

"Hai. Gaara. If you go, who watches over the village?!" asked Temari.

Gaara looked at her, and merely said, "You'll see."

Temari groaned, sure it would be her, as usual. Kankuro grinned, and said, "I want to see this...disturbance for myself, let's go already!"

"So impatient. But alright, we have to get this done ASAP anyway," said Temari. She opened the window and sailed down using her fan.

Kankuro looked down at her. "Show-off."

"Hurry up!" Gaara was there, too.

"Kay, Okay!"

* * *

It was windy out, so Temari had no problem gliding on the air currents toward where the kumo-nin were. Gaara and Kankuro followed on Gaara's sand. 

"There they are!" whispered Temari, abruptly coming to a stop. Gaara nodded.

"Good work, Temari. Go back to Suna and guard the village. Kankuro and I will interrogate them. "

Temari grinned and sailed away on her fan. "See ya later," she called.

Gaara sent his third eye towards the kumo-nin camp. _So they're resting,_ he thought. _They're fools, then. Wait...is that a oto-nin? Sound and Cloud...and the box, too. Fools. They can't be more than chunin if they'll rest in enemy territory. _

"Nii-san, let's go."

"Hai."

Kankuro ran towards the camp straight on while Gaara sent his sand towards the camp in the shape of a sandstorm. While the shinobi were blinded, he trapped them with a sand cage that also absorbed chakra, so they couldn't get out. Kankuro took the box, and the extremely short fight was over.

"Who are you and what are you doing in Sunakagure territory?" asked Kankuro in a monotone, handing Gaara the box. Tell the truth, he was extremely bored.

"We don't have to tell you anything!" answered one cloud-nin confidently. "How strong can the Sand be if they're going to send out a couple of _teenagers_ to capture people?"

"..." Gaara looked at them, face emotionless, and broke the seals on the box. A white chakra swirl was seen, then dissapated to reveal a girl about Gaara's age, unconcious, and wounded badly. Evidently they had healed her enough to travel, but nothing else. Gaara turned around and glared jade daggers at the trapped Cloud- and Sound-nin for hurting her so badly, as he rather thought she was very pretty. "Kankuro, get every last scrap of info they have and leave them here. I don't care how. I'm taking this kunoichi back to the hospital. " (A.N.Luckily for Jitoru, they hadn't taken away her weapons or scrolls. Imcompetent idiots.)

"H-how did you break the seals so easily, they were jonin-level jutsu!" cried the outspoken cloud ninja from before. "Y-you're only _kids_!"

"Hey, watch it!" growled Kankuro. "I've spent half my life trying to get rid of that title. And I _am_ a Jonin. _Kid_."

"...So...who's the red-head with scary green eyes?"

"I am Sabaku no Gaara, Sunakagure no Godaime Kazekage," said Gaara, gently placing Jitoru on a sand platform that would catch her if she fell.

Now the kumo-nin, all of them, looked terrified. If this, this _kid_ was Kazekage, then how powerful were the other shinobi in his village?? " B-but you're so young? What're you, 14???"

"15. Sayonara, nii-san, I'll see you later. Have fun." Gaara left.

Kankuro looked at his captives and smirked. "Now then, which one of you would like to go first?"

Two days later, their screams could still be heard.

* * *

Okay people, that's chapter three. Next chapter's called 'Seal and Birthright of the Shukumei'. Sorry this chapter's so late, I hate typing. Oh, before I forget, read and review peoples! Review. Please! 


	4. Seal of the Shukumei,Birthright of the 4

Disclaimer: Don't own. And about the names of the four OCs? I only own Kaida. Kohaku's appearance and general personality and character goes to my friend Hannah, also known as XxKuragarixX on fanfiction. The credit for both the Shukumei Clan name, the idea to make the girls sisters, and Akumi-chan goes to my friend Janis, whose username, is yet unknown. But I think it's kawaiiSei-chan. And finally, credit for Jitoru's name and personality goes to my friend Elena, who hasn't decided what she wanted her OC to look like, so I just made stuff up. She doesn't go on fanficition.

Anyway, people. The people who read this, anyway. We have a problem-reviews. I need reviews, they're like support for me. Like the way manga-ka get cheered up by their fanletters? Review, people! Without reviews, I'll have no reason to keep writing...

Oh, and italics are thoughts, bolded words are Inners.

Enjoy the chapter, I promise I'll have another one up soon! That is, of course...if you review. All I'm asking for is five or more reviews. It isn't a lot, you know...you don't have to have anything interesting to say. And it's not _that_ hard to click a little periwinkle blue button, type in something, and send it...is it?

* * *

"What?!" yelled Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of the Hidden Village of Konoha. "So, let me get this straight. You three found these three in the forest, unconcious and hurt, with dead kumo-nin, who obviously were trespassing in Fire Country, and weapon equipment strewn around them, and just picked them up and got them back here without first checking out the surrounding area to see if there were any more lurking around?" 

"Something like that," answered Sasuke.

Tsunade groaned. "Kids these days," she muttered. "Sooo impolite." She thought for a brief moment. "Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba, Uzumaki Naruto! Assemble a team of three shinobi including you, and search for any other survivors. Sakura, Shizune, get these girls to Operating Room Five, clean them up, stop any bleeding, and bandage their wounds. You are not to put salve or ointment of any kind on their wounds. Broken bones will have to be set."

"Hai!" They scurried away (sort of) to carry out their respective tasks, and Tsunade groaned, sinking down into her chair. The three strangers had looked somewhat familiar, like three of her friends from her childhood. What were their names again? They were from the fabled Shukumei Clan. Kaiya, Hikari, Mikoto and Kokoro. Could it be that these girls were their children? If that was the case, then they had to be saved, at all costs. And not for her own sake, either. If Konoha saved three direct decsecdants of the Clan of Destiny, a political misunderstanding would be avoided. Besides if they were moving back to Konoha, as Kokoro-chan had promised her when they were thirteen, Konoha would have another one of the greatest Clans living there. The trouble was, where were the rest of the Shukumei? They were at least as big as the Hyuuga and the former Uchiha Clans.

"TSUUUNADE-SAMA!!!!!!!!" the very annoyed voice drilled into the blonde Hokage's thoughts.

"Hai?" she yelped, cursing herself for her stupidity for letting herself let her thoughts wander off like that. Then she saw Shizune."What is it, Shizune?"

Shizune raised an eyebrow, clearly noting her Hokage's lack of attention to the real world but choosing no to comment on it. "Tsunade-sama, Kohaku, Kaida, and Akumi's wounds are now clean, and bandaged. Shouldn't you go see to them now?" Inwardly, she wondered why the blonde Hokage seemed so out of it, and why the three girls had seemed so special to her.

"Right. Shizune, hold all appointments for the day, and if anyone asks, I'll be in Operating Room 5. Where's Sakura?"

"With Kohaku, Kaida, and Akumi."

"Who??"

"I checked the kunoichis' IDs. Their names are Shukumei Kaida, Shukumei Kohaku, and Shukumei Akumi."

Tsunade was silent. _So they are from my best friends' clan, no wonder they looked so familiar. I wonder if they have seals, like Hikari and Kokoro did._ "Shizune!" she commanded.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?"

"I'll be going now. You stay here and fend off all annoying people, and if people ask where I am, tell no one you wouldn't trust with your life."

"Hai!"

* * *

Operating Room 5

"What's taking Tsunade-sensei so long?" wondered Sakura, looking down at her patients. The raven hair, what was her name? Sakura turned to look at the blood and dirt stained shinobi ID on the table behind her. Kaida, that was it. She looked unusually like Sasuke-kun-the same pale face, the same dark hair. And Kohaku, was she the girl with the dark indigo-purple hair? Yeah. And Akumi was the one with brown-black hair...right. All of them were on tables, barely alive. She'd never known chakra levels could sink so low with the person alive!

"Sakura. Are you ready? What I am about to teach you is very rarely used, and consumes a great deal of chakra." The pink haired kunoichi whirled around to see her blonde, somewhat big-bosomed mentor standing in the doorway with the look on her face that she only used for crises.

"Hai! What are we doing?" asked Sakura.

"This jutsu is sort of dangerous, but I think you'll manage. It is also rarely used, so I never had a reason to teach you before. Now, watch carefully." Tsunade strode over to Akumi, and prepared herself. "Watch closely, my student."

"Hai..."

Sakura watched as her mentor, carefully holding her hands so that they hovered an inch directly above Akumi's heart, performed signs. They were: Horse, Mouse, Dragon, Bird, Snake, Bird, Boar, Dog, Tiger, Ox, Tiger, Dog. The Sannin's hands glowed with chakra, the color of which abruptly turned a spring green, tinged with rust-brown. Chakra flowed all over the girl's body, then focused into a beam that sank into a spot just above her left temple, half hidden by her hair. A seal glowed for a moment, then turned black. Tsunade, looking at the shape of the seal, wasn't too surprised.

It was the earth symbol of the Shukumei Four. Most Shukumei had a seal unique to their branch, but the Four were special, they were reincarnated whenever the Four elements felt like it, and could withdraw their assistance from their Chosen at any given time.The Five Lesser Elements, Ice, Lightning, Wood, Poison, and Stone, were much more predictable, and appeared more often, but their Chosen were prone to premature and tragic deaths.

Tsunade frowned. This earth symbol was different from the conventional ones. It was different, as if someone had conbined it with the Stone symbol. That was odd.

"Huh? What was that?" asked Sakura, confused.

**Isn't it _obvious_?** asked her Inner. **It reveals--**

_Shut up. I'm busy. I thought you, of all people would know that-after all, you _do_ live in my head,_ thought Sakura fiercely, shoving her Inner into a locked and barred mental closet, then threw up a mental wall, so she wouldn't have to hear her.

Tsunade threw her apprentice a startled look. "I thought you knew, this reveals seals of all kinds. These girls reminded me of some peope I used to know who had similar seals that speeded up healing naturally. Seals can affect healing, you know. Remember?"

Sakura nodded, remembering that day's lesson. "Can I try it now?"

"Sure-but stop the chakra flow if you feel faint. I do _not_ want you fainting on me, you hear? If you do, how I will explain it to Lee?"

Sakura nodded, and followed her sensei's instructions. And, as expected, a orange-red slightly tinged with icy blue wave of chakra waashed over Kaida, then, like her sister, the fire symbol of the Four appeared, but on Kaida, it was between her collarbones, at the base of her throat. But this one was different, too-it looked like it had been combined with Ice. Sakura staggered from the rush of chakra that left her, then regained her balance.

**See? This is why you shouldn't keep me out...I can help you!** Sakura's Inner burst out again. Sighing, Sakura shut her away again and watch as the new jutsu she had learned was used on the last girl-Kohaku. A watery blue tinged with light green rushed over the dark violet haired teen, and her seal appeared in the position opposite to Akumi's seal-the symbol of water-mixed with Wood.

"Hmmm...I'm not exactly sure, but proceed with what you usually do, and healing should be fairly easy.I'm putting you in charge of them!" Tsunade turned to go, then paused at the door. "Remember-the wounds aren't particularily serious-it's just that there are so many of them. Keep that in mind."

Sakura nodded and go to work.

Meanwhile, Tsunade pondered. Wasn't there another girl listed on the Shukumei girls' cards, as their sister? And she hadn't been found, either...perhaps she had been captured? If she had, it would have been by cloud-nin. And wasn't Suna on the way to Kumo?

* * *

Gaara had gotten to the hospital with the girl with the dark reddish-brown hair and had handed her over to Temari, and was now going to his office. If anything changed, he'd know. 

"Gaara-sama!" The young Kazekage turned to see his former squad leader running toward him from the general direction of the messenger birds.

"What is it, Baki? If it's about my shirking all my duties and going on a rescue mission without at least finishing some of my work first, I'm not listening."

"No, actually, I commend you for that. Even a Kazekage-_especially _a fifteen-year old Kaxekage-needs a vacation from all the paperwork. What I was going to tell you is that the Hokage sent you a message. Here."

"The Hokage?" asked Gaara, taking the piece of paper Baki held out.

"Yes, it's about if you have a girl in our custody with the seal of the Shukumei. Would you like me to tell her that that's impossible? After all, the Shukumei Clan been missing for fifteen years."

"No. Stand by and wait for orders. I'm going to see Temari."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama!"

* * *

"Temari." 

Temari looked up from checking the reamainder of Jitoru's wounds. "Yes?"

Gaara walked in. "Does she have a shinobi ID?" He inclined his head toward the unconcious kunoichi a little more deeply than was probably neccesary.

"Yes. Her name is Shukumei Jitoru."

_**Jitoru...what a pretty name..**. mused Shukaku. **She could be a potential mate, that is, if she survives**._

_Stop that_, ordered Gaara privately. _Of course she'll survive. Shut up. I'm busy._

_**You're no fun**,_ retorted Shukaku indignantly_. **Did you know that**_** Kyubi **_**has a better sense of humor than you? You're fifteen.** _**Fifteen!**_ **Don't your hormones ever kick in?**_ He paused from his ranting for effect._ **I**_** did**_** see how you were looking at her before, you know.**_

Gaara promptly locked up his inner demon and turned his attention back to his sister. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

Temari sighed. "Her name is Shukumei Jitoru."

"Shukumei...?"

"Yes. Shukumei," answered Temari. "Is that significant?"

"Yes...use a seal-revealing jutsu on her."

"Why?"

"JUST DO IT!"

"Don't yell."

A soft, silvery white glow tinged ever so slightly with a light purple surrounded Jitoru, and cleared to reveal a shimmering seal on her forehead, just between her eyes.

"Air and Poison?" murmered Gaara. He turned to Temari, who was staring at Jitoru's seal. "Temari!"

She snapped out of it. "Yes, Gaara?"

"I'm going back to my office to ungag the Council and to see to my paperwork, and perhaps assign a mission to the new genin teams. Send someone if anything changes."

"Hai."

Gaara left to return his fellow Kage's message.

The Shukumei had reappeared...but what would happen this time?

* * *

Well, I hoped you liked it. And yes, I've changed my penname. Kaida's going to be the main character, because it's easier for me to imagine her reaction to stuff. Also, I'm planning to either blind her or have her inherit a blessing/curse and subsequently maybe leave the village forever. Or all three, but I should warn you, the last one only goes with the middle one. I am not, I repeat, not blinding her and making her leave the village. You guys can decide which. It'll still get a happy ending though.

And if I get enough reviews, I'll start the next chapter early and spend all my free time on it, not that I have much. I have summer school, and it kills. kk?

I'm thinking of putting a flashback chappie for the next one, so I won't have to explain so much. What do you think? If you guys don't want, I'll just continue with my original plot and the chapter'll be called Awakening. So people, review, please! I've actually given you a incentive for you to do it now!

Until next time!

Ja ne!

--Kuroi


	5. Chapter 4:Flashbacks, Memories, Part I

Disclaimer: don't own. Not Naruto, not Kohaku, not Akumi, and not Jitoru or the name of the clan. Got it?

Since only one person reviewed, (thanks, kawaiiSei-chan and Hana-Kumotta!) I'm going to go ahead with the flashback chappie. No complaining. This'll be like a Kakashi Gaiden, only for my story!

* * *

_Sixteen years ago... _

_It is a autumn day, and in the house of the head of the Shukumei Clan, the cries of four infants are heard. In the arms of the proud young mother is a newborn Shukumei, the fourth-in-line to inherit the mantle of head of the Clan. Shukumei Kokoro smiles down at her little daughter's crying face, and gently brushes a finger over the downy red hair. In one big cradle beside her bed, the little baby's sisters lie- the second youngest sleeping, her big brown eyes closed, the second eldest looking around her with curious purple eyes. They do not look alike, it is true, but then, all four girls were the very image of herself, her sister Hikari, her cousin Mikoto, and her husband. _

_"Shukumei-san! Your daughter, your oldest," cries one of the women assisting her._

_Right away Kokoro knew something was wrong. "What is it?" She glanced at her eldest, and screamed. Her husband, the head of the Clan, ran in._

_"Dear one, what is it?"_

_"My little one..."She gestured to the last little girl in the cradle, who lay absoutely still, as if sleeping, motionless. Her sister, also sleeping, did not look like she slept the sleep of death as this one did. The head looked alarmed. His heir, his firstborn, dead? It couldn't be. And yet she lay there._

_"Send for Saisei and the five," he commanded a woman anxiously hoving at Kokoro's bedside. She snapped to attention, and hurried away, seeking the young twelve-year-oldChosen of wood, the healer. Saisei of the Five. And of course, where she was, the others were too. Saisei's cousins of the same age-Akira, the leader, Chosen of ice; Bontenmaru, the strong beyond belief Chosen of stone; her twin Saishi, the devious Chosen of poison, and five-year-old Kumatchi, the young Chosen of lightning..._

_But right now, the infant vessel of Fire lay there, looking dead. Her worried father reached out with his chakra, and finding her still alive, breathed a sigh of relief and continued sustaining the small, flickering flame of her life until Saisei should arrive._

_"Uncle, I'm here, I'm here." Saisei rushed in, closely followed by her cousins and twin._

_"Good, Saisei. Can you heal Kaida?"_

_Saisei looked at him blankly. "Pardon, Uncle. But who is Kaida?"_

_"She is your new cousin, my heir. These are her younger sisters, Kohaku, Akumi, Jitoru," he told her, naming his newborn quadruplets on the spur of the moment. _

_Saishi clapped her hands estatically, saying, "Quadruplets, Aunt? Oh my God! Congradulations!"_

_Kumatchi stuck his head around, trying to see. Chuckling, Bontenmaru hoisted him up on his broad shoulders. "Thanks, Bon-nii," Kumatchi told him, then looked at his new cousins. "Um, Akira-nii? I don't see what the big deal is."_

_Quietly, Akira told him, "Having babies are a big deal, and four babies born at the same time are a very big deal, Kumatchi. Alright?" Kuma still looked a bit confused, but nodded all the same._

_"Oh, my. Poor little Kaida," said Saisei, checking with her Chosen powers, then with drew it just as quickly. "Ow!"_

_"Well? Is it that bad?" asked Kokoro anxiously. _

_Saisei looked at her. "Aunt, congratulations. Not only did you bear quadruplets, but they are also the Four Chosen. Kaida, however, will survive, I can make it so-"_

_Weeping tears of joy, Kokoro hugged her neice. "Thank you, Saisei!" _

_"Kumatchi, Akira, Bon, Saishi, I'll need you, too," said Saisei, turning to them. "Aunt, Uncle, you should get some food and rest. Shi-chan, can you see to it that they get that, and not worry about little Kai-chan?"_

_"Sure, Sei-chan," answered Saishi. "Come on, Aunt Kokoro, Uncle. And don't worry, Sei-chan is perfectly capable." She steered them away, talking calmly all the while._

_"But how can I help?" asked Kumatchi, looking at the floor. "My power is mainly destruction."_

_Saisei knelt and put an arm around the little boy. "Lightning is destruction, yes, but it is also a son of fire. With lightning, you can temper the fire in our little Kai-chan's soul, and she will live."_

_"Really?"_

_"'course, Kumatchi!" said Akira, patting his head. "Do I lie?" _

_"No..."_

_"Then trust us, and help your baby cousin," said Bon._

* * *

_Three years later_

_Kaida wandered around the Shukumei complex, her little hands moving, her blue, clouded eyes unseeing. At two years, she had been seperated from her sisters, because they all had fallen sick with the illness she had when she was born, as was their mother. Akumi, Kohaku and Jitoru were stronger, and they had gotten better quickly, but not before Saisei-nee, Bon-nii, and Saishi-nee had to transfer most of their power to them. Akira, too, had transfered most of his power to Kaida with Kumatchi helping a little, but unlike her sisters, she was sicker, and had recovered with ice powers and a a changed seal, like her sisters, but unlike them, her hair had turned completely white, and she was completely blind. But compared to their mother, even Kaida was lucky. For their mother, bless her...was dead.  
_

_She bumped into a door, then reached to open it, and stepped in. The inhabitants, a middle-aged women and a little girl-child, shrank back. Kaida stepped toward them, her hands reaching so she wouldn't fall._

_"I'm sorry, Kaida-san, but I'll have to ask you to leave, good-bye!" And with those hurtful words, she was shooed out and the door shut firmly in her face. _

_"W-why?" she whimpered, touching her closed eyelids gently. "What did I do? Is it because I got sick?" Because her mysterious illness had claimed the life of her beloved mother, she was politely shunned. Most would not consort with her, and those who did were ordered to, by her father, who had sunk deep into grief. Now, instead of a honored heiress, she was a little four-year-old girl, tucked away and left to do what she would, until the day her father would die and she would become head, a day which the people whispered about. And, worst of all, she didn't know her own mother was dead._

_She blundered into a person next, but unlike everyone else, this person didn't rush away, wondering if they'd get sick and die. Kaida wondered if she had been sent to escort her back to her room, the dark room with nothing but her small bed, and a small dresser._

_"Hi, little one. Are you lost?"_

_Kaida stared up, disbelieving. It had to be a trick, no one was this nice to her. If her little sisters were, she'd never know. She'd heard of them, but she only had a distant memory of them..._

_"Oh, you're Kaida, aren't you?"_

_"Please don't send me back!" Kaida said automatically, then cringed, waiting for this lady to send her back anyway._

_"I'm Saisei, do you remember me?? I healed you when you were little. Come on, you must be cold." Saisei took Kaida's hand and pulled her along. "If you don't want to go back, then how about staying with me and my cousins tonight?"_

_"Yes, please, Saisei-san,"mumbled Kaida, running to keep up with Saisei's much longer legs._

* * *

_"Saisei, another one of your strays?" asked Bontenmaru teasingly, trying to peek in the little bundle Saisei held in her arms. _

_"No, this is Shukumei Kaida. She's staying with us tonight," answered Saisei, gently unwrapping her coat. Now that Kaida's features were thrown into the light, she could see slight shadows under her eyes, and faint tear tracks that must have been from the night before, since she knew that Kaida's servants were lazy and sometimes didn't even bother to wash the little girl's face properly._

_"Oh, wow. Does the head know about this?" asked Akira, shifting a pillow under the sleeping girl's head._

_"Probably not. You know how he is these days.I hope the other three are better treated. She's the heir of the entire frickin' clan, for kami's sake! Idiot man won't do anything but dream of ressurec__ting his wife, not even see to the care of his daughters!" complained Saishi, plopping herself on the sofa next to Bontenmaru. "And we get no respect anymore. Seriously!"_

_"True...I guess."was  
_

_"Where's Kuma-chan?" asked Saisei, picking up Kaida again. _

_"In his room...where else, seriously, Sei-chan." Saishi rolled her eyes._

_"Shut up, Shi-chan."_

* * *

_Kaida had been staying with her cousins for two weeks now, and she couldn't be happier. She was loved, and fed, clothed, and clean properly now. Unknown to her, Saishi and Saisei were researching how to remove the traces of her illness that still remained, mainly, the snow-white hair and the blindness. _

_"Look, Sei-chan, I think this might be it," said Saishi, flicking open a ancient-looking book. "We'll probably need Kumatchi's help, though."_

_"Yea, probably, to temper the fire already in Kai-chan's soul," mused Saisei, writing equations and digrams down. "Speaking of which, where _are_ the two? I've'nt seen them since breakfast." Just then, her question was answered by a loud yell. _

_"KAIDA, DON'T TOUCH THAT, YOU SUPREME IDIOT!! STUPID MIDGET, TINY IMBECILE, SUICIDAL--" The voice was unmistakably Kumatchi's, coming from his room. Saisei rushed to his room to see what could _possibly_ be wrong. When she got there, she gaped. Kumatchi broke off from his ranting and looked at her. "Oh, hello, onee-chan."_

_Kaida was surrounded by lightning that Kumatchi had been praticing with, and she was smiling, reaching out to touching the warmth of the slender bolts. She wasn't getting hurt, in fact, she looked as if she was having the time of her life._

_"Akira!"_

_"Yeah?" Akira took one look at both the Lightning User and the little Fire User that was bugging the former so much, and threw a leftover ice wall from where he had been sparring between them, and neatly picked Kaida away from her pretty (dangerous) toys. She turned her face toward him, but didn't cry._

_"What is it, Akira-nii?"_

_"You're...not supposed to be playing with Kumatchi's lightning," he told her, struggling to hide the amusement he felt at seeing the normally quiet Kumatchi blow up like that. _

_"Oh... gomen nasai, Kumatchi-nii," apoligized Kaida, turning to the general direction of where Kumatchi was._

_"Whatever...just get out of my room. All of you." _

_"Kuma..." Saisei put a bit of a warning into her voice._

_"_Please _get out of my room."_

_When Saisei finally got back to Saishi, her twin waved around a fragile-looking piece of paper. "Found it, Sei-chan!"_

_"Stop waving it around, you're already making me nervous. Let me see..." Saisei started reading it. When she had stopped, she looked up at Saishi, eyes shining. "Shi-chan. This...is brilliant!"_

_"Well duh, it _was _my idea, after all. What did you espect_

* * *

_8 months later..._

_The entire Shukumei Clan had been to the two newly made graves, covering them with so many flowers, it looked like a flower garden. Not two hours earlier, the bodies of Shukumei Saisei and Shukumei Saishi had been laid in them, the rain finally turning to mist, courtesy of little Kohaku, who couldn't attempt anything better for fear of chakra exhaustion. _

_And now, a 4 year old girl in a ice blue and white kimono with raven black hair and unclouded blue-grey eyes stared at the headstone as if her gaze alone would bring two of her favorite cousins back from the dead, desperately staking anything, if only they they would come back-her hair, her eyes, a limb or two, even her life. Because only she, and the Five now turned Three, knew how they had died. To everyone else, it was a freak accident with jutsu experimentation. Two yards away, three girls exactly the same age huddled together, also looking at the grave, then slowly one, then all three's gazes swung to the other girl gazing at the graves with such intensity. Did they know her? The three watched as the other little girl placed a flower on each grave, then walked away._

_"It's all my fault," whispered Kaida miserably to herself as she strolled down the corrider, wallowing in guilt. "Saishi and Saisei died because of me. If I knew this would happen if they tried bring my sight and hair color back, I wouldn't have let them. But I did. And it's all my fault."_

_Kumatchi had shut himself in his room, refusing to come out for anything and when anyone had inquired, even Akira or Bontenmaru, he had slipped lightning through the window and sent it coursing through the house to sting whoever was at his his door. And he lay on his futon in his room, hating the little upstart who had caused the cousins who had been like a mother to him. She had ruined their former peace, crashing into their lives when she had no right, making Saisei and Saishi research a cure for her infernal illness, making them make him hold the key to her recovery because he held lightning. The little she-witch was going to pay for this, mark his words. Pay for every minute of grief he spent in the darkness._

--Kuroi


	6. Chapter 5:Memories, Flashbacks: Part II

And...here's another flashback chapter, mainly because I couldn't fit everything in the previous one and still keep it reasonably long. Enjoy, enjoy...and tell me how I did.

Disclaimer: Go look at the last chapter. I'm not typing it again. It's way too frickin long.

Thanks, kawaiiSei-chan, for reviewing. But please, at least _try_ to keep it short!

* * *

_"Minami, do you know about a girl, about our age, with raven-black hair and blue eyes?" Kohaku asked one of the women her otou-sama sent to serve her and her sisters, Akumi and Jitoru. _

_"You mean your sister, the cursed one, Kohaku-san?" asked the woman, then covered her mouth quickly. "F-forget such a thing slipped out of my unworthy mouth, Akumi-san, Jitoru-san! I alone am responsible! Forgive me, forgive me,God-sama!!!" She fell to her knees, still wailing._

_All three girls, though only four, knew only too well how to handle each and everyone of their servants. They glanced at each other, then Kohaku asked, "Cursed one? What do you mean?" When Minami didn't answer, she carefully yanked the woman up until she could stand. "Answer me!"_

_"Kohaku-san, out of all your sisters, you are not the eldest quadruplet...there is one other. Your onee-sama, Kaida-sama. The heir of the Clan."_

_"Then where is she?" demanded Akumi._

_"She was seperated from you at two years of age...because of her illness..." whispered Minami._

_The three girls looked at each other. "Illness?"_

_"Seperated?"  
_

* * *

_"You understand, Muramasa-san, that if Kaida is to take my place one day as my heir, she must have the proper training, " said _

_the before mentioned girl's father, sitting in the semi-dark room at the back of the main house, where his rooms where. _

_"Of course, Shukumei-sama," answered the man in front of him, also kneeling. He had light golden hair the was slighty waved  
that reached down to his waist, a warm smile when he wanted, which was often, and equally warm brown eyes. But right now,  
they were serious. He was actually not young at all, but he looked it.  
_

_"Hmmm, she will be brought up as a boy, from now on. To have a woman as head is highly irregular," he continued._

_Muramasa decided not to mention that the previous head, his wife, had been a woman. And since Muramasa himself was not Clan born, and their son was from a lesser branch, her little brother, who sat in front of him, had taken over. "Yes, Shukumei-sama."_

_"You will teach her. And my other daughters, what were their names?"_

_"Kohaku, Akumi, Jitoru."_

_"Yes, yes. Train them as well, I suppose. Rather not. In a couple of years, of course, you must train the heir first. She is of utmost importance. You understand?"_

_"...Yes." Muramasa bowed and walked out, heart heavy. Although he was a highly skilled swordsman, indeed, none could match him, he was a kind man. To hear this man speak of his eldest daughter this way, like she was just a pawn, ...he didn't like it at all.  
_

* * *

_Two years later..._

_Kaida dashed down the corrider, her midnight blue eyes darting here and there as she avoided oncoming people. Slowing down to turn around a corner and stifle a cough, she ran into a man with light blonde hair and warm brown eyes. _

_"Ah! Gomen nasai!" she cried, ready to hear a mumbled apology("Oh no, Kaida-san, the fault is mine") and see the stranger dash off like she was a disease  
_

_"Whoa there, slow down! And where are you running off to?" he asked, helping her up with a gentle smile on his face._

_"Nowhere in particular, --" she replied, still waiting.  
_

_"Oh. I am Muramasa," he explained. He extended a hand to pluck a leaf off her hair._

_"Kaida," she answered warily._

_"Oh, I think everyone knows your name," he laughed freely. She stared at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing out so late, Kaida-chan?"_

_"Stuff. Running away from my maids. Being alone. Stuff," she replied automatically, now waiting for this strange who had just starting talking to her in the middle of the night to take her back to her rooms. She brushed a bit of dust off her boy's kimono and coughed again._

_"Hmm. You really don't like it there, do you?" She gave him a 'duh!' look. "Then how about you live with me?"_

_"What?" No one was this nice to her. Except Saisei. And Saisei was... gone. Forever._

_"Come with me, Kaida-chan. I'll train you in the shinobi arts," Muramasa told her, holding out a hand, a smile on his face. She grinned back, for the first time in two years, and took it. _

_"Hai!" Her cheerful reply was quickly followed by a yelp as her new sensei hoisted her up on his shoulders. "Whoa!"_

_Then she laughed. "Laugh more, " Muramasa told her. "You should more like a proper six-year-old that way."_

_The smile immediatley changed to a frown. "Otou-sama says I should act more dignified. Delegation, seperation, elevation. Have proper behavior for a heir. And also, he won't train me, 'cause I'm a girl, but then why does he have me grow up as a boy, and there's nothing to do all day, except read and write and learn my heir lessons, and it's so boring!"_

_"Well then! If you're going to live with me, then we won't have any seperating, delegating, or elevating!" Muramasa informed her with a solemn face, then smiled again. "How's that?"_

_"Hai!"_

_And as both teacher and student's laughs rang out, people everywhere turned to see their beloved elder and the cursed heir together, laughing. "Maybe she's not so bad after all, Muramasa seems to like her well enough. And she is only six, after all," they whispered to each other. And from then on, Kaida was no longer shunned, but accepted, liked and talked to._

* * *

_"Yah!" _

_"No, Kai. Higher."_

_"Heeyah!" _

_A tiny, seven-year old fist slammed into a nineteen year old one. Akira looked at his cousin. "Good."_

_"Hey, Kai-chan!" called Bontenmaru from across the courtyard of Muramasa's little side house just off the main one. "How 'bout you work and master that and everything you learn this week, and I'll take you to see your little sisters?"_

* * *

_"Shishou!" she called across Muramasa's courtyard a week later, dropping her newly acquired twin katanas onto the ground._

_"Don't just drop your katanas like that," Akira told her. "They will be your partners for life. Treat them with respect." He touched the handle of his own four-foot katana._

_"Hai, Akira." She picked them up._

_"Kaida?" Muramasa appeared at their side. "You called me? Also, do you still want shougayaki for dinner, or have you changed your mind?"_

_"How did you know-"_

_Akira cut her off. "Muramasa can read minds, it's his ability, Satori."_

_"I don't read minds as much as they tell me what they're saying, Akira-kun, and it's not polite to interrupt. Now then, Kaida?"_

_"Bon-nii told me he was going to take me to see my sisters. I still haven't seen them!" the little girl complained, pouting._

_"Well then...alright then, let's go." Muramasa took her hand. She looked at him._

_"What, now?"_

_"Yes, do you mind? We can go later, if you like."_

_"Um, hai, shishou, just let me change kimono," She let go of his hand and dashed to the little cottage, threw off her geta, and slammed open the sliding door and ran in. _

_Kumaji, who was reading a scroll of jutsu that Kaida's father had given him, yelled after her, "Can we _try_ to keep it quiet here, Shukumei Suzaku-no suke Kaida??!!"_

_Akira sighed. "Now then, Kuma..."_

_"You know what?" Kumaji furled up the scroll. "Just...whatever. Leave me alone, okay? I can't believe you guys made us share a house. I hate that stupid, midget, little privledged brat!" He left, using a teleportation jutsu._

_Muramasa looked sad. "He shouldn't blame Kai-chan. It isn't her fault..."_

_Akira shrugged. "What can you do? You try talking to him, he bites your head off for trying."_

_"But still..." Muramasa sighed._

_Akira tactically changed the subject. "How's Kaida doing?"_

_"You should know, right?" Muramasa smiled. "Your train her half the time."_

_"One third of the time," Akira corrected. "She's advancing faster than..." He thought swiftly. "Than idiot Bon-bon."_

_"I HEARD THAT, AKIRA!" roared Bontenmaru from behind the cottage. _

_"I know," Akira called back. A tall spire of stone rose up in front of Akira, which promptly froze and shattered._

_"Okay, let's go now, Shishou! Are Akira-nii or Bon-nii coming, too?" Kaida ran now wearing a cream-ish colored boy's kimono that went down to mid-thigh length with black trim, and black shorts underneath. She also wore the silver necklace Muramasa gave her after she mastered her control over fire, Akira noted. It was three extremely thin diamond shapes in the arrangement /\. She could now control how her fire worked, but to completely master it, she still had a long ways to go._

_"Iie." answered Akira bluntly._

_"No, thanks," called Bon._

_"Let's go, Kai-chan," said Muramasa. She looked up at him and nodded solemnly._

_As they walked through the tiny village-like compound that connected the main mansion to Muramasa's humble cottage, people called out greetings to the pair._

_"Ohayo gozaimasu, Muramasa-sama!"_

_"Konnichiwa, Kaida-senpai!"_

_"Going to the main house? Good luck, I heard the head's not in a good mood today!"_

_"He's never in a good mood, you fool! All he does is dream of the past and talk to Kumaji-san!"_

_"Shhh...the head has spies everywhere."_

_A little girl, not two years old yet toddled in front of Kaida, blocking her path. They stared at each other, Kaida's stare even more frightened than the baby's._

_"Muramasa..."_

_"Oh, it's Shiori-chan. Where's your kaa-san, Shiori?"_

_"Shiori! Shiori!" A woman ran out to her little daughter. _

_"Lady...is this your baby?" asked Kaida awkwardly._

_"Yes, and naughty, too, Kai-san," answered the lady. She scooped up her daughter and walked back into her apartment. Kaida looked after her as she and Muramasa started walking again. _

_"Muramasa---"_

_"I'll tell you some other time, Kaida, we're almost there."_

_"..."_

_When they reached the front door, Muramasa stopped, and told her, "Wait here. I'll come get you."_

_"..."_

_"Okay then." He left, leaving her to wait for his return. She took off the twin katanas, and knelt on the ledge, placed them beside her, and settled down to wait._

* * *

_"My earth trumps your wood!" _

_"Without your wood, all the earth would wash away!"_

_"Stone can hold it!"_

_"And water wears away at stone!"_

_Kohaku and Akumi were fighting again, noted Muramasa, being careful to not soil his kimono and hakama on the muddy and dirty floor. Jitoru, he noticed, was floating gently above the chaos, on a never ending stream of wind._

_"Ohayo gozaimasu, Muramasa-dono,"said Jitoru, bowing. She had on a pale kimono that reached down to her knees. "How do I stop them this time?"_

_"Ohayo, Jitoru-chan," he replied, bowing in kind. "O genki desu-ka?" How are you?_

_"Hai, genki desu," she replied. Fine. "Now, about nee-chan..."_

_"Which one?" he enquired._

_"Both of them."_

_"Kaida's waiting outside, if you want to meet her," he replied, taking care to throw his voice throughout the room so that even Kohaku and Akumi heard._

_"Ne-chan's here? Where, where?" asked Kohaku excitedly. All three girls crowded around Muramasa, who came to visit them often. _

_"Well, we can't go meet her in dirty kimono," decided Akumi, commanding the earth to leave her pale pink kimono and Kohaku's kimono and hakama. She also cleaned their room._

_"Let's go, already!" Impatient, Kohaku ran out of the house, almost tripping over Kaida, who hadn't moved. "Who are you?"_

_Kaida opened one eye, seeing a purple haired girl her age. Seeing it wasn't Muramasa, she closed it again, still unmoving. Kohaku looked indignant._

_"What the--? Answer me! I am Kohaku, second heir of the Shukumei Clan!"_

_Kaida's lips moved so briefly Kohaku wondered if she'd even seen it, but Kaida's quiet, almost sing-songvoice could still be heard. "As I am Shukumei suzaku-no-suke Kaida, first heir...little sister."_

_"YOU?" cried Kohaku, completely taken aback. This quiet girl who behaved five years older than she really was wasn't really what she was expecting. _

_"Hai."_

_Kohaku ran back inside, not bothering to see the little beads of sweat running down Kaida's forehead, or the sharp look of concentration on her big sister's face. Bursting into the room where Muramasa and the others still were(cleaning up-Kohaku hadn't bothered to clean up the water) she yelled, "That girl outside is our sister?!"_

_"Kaida? Hai, she is," answered Muramasa. His hakama were tied up as to avoid the water. "Now then, Kohaku-chan, would you be so kind as to clean up this water?"_

_"Oh...right." Kohaku swept the last traces away with a sweep of her arm, and ran back outside. She knelt, studying her sister. "You don't look like you could be related to me, Kaida-nee," she said, thinking out loud. "But sensei says you are, so you must be. Let's be friends, huh?" She reached out a hand._

_Kaida shied away immediatley, her concentration slipping for a second. "Don't touch me!"_

_Kohaku frowned. "But all I want to do is--"_

_The look of concentration changed a look of tightly suppressed pain as Kaida opened her eyes, revealing black-blue orbs. She turned to Kohaku, expression almost desperate. "Imouto-san, get Muramasa. Hurry, and tell him that--" She fell, unconcious._

_"Nee-san!" Kohaku stared down at her sister, wondering if she had a fever. Remembering how Muramasa checked when Akumi had a cold two months ago, she held a hand to her own forehead and reached out a hand to Kaida's. As soon as she touched her, she flinched back, burned and cold at the same time. That wasn't a temperature suited for normal people. (A.N. But they aren't really normal, now are they?)She ran inside, yelling, "Sensei!!!"_

_Muramasa looked concerned. "What is it?" Then, reading the answer almost immediatley from Kohaku's mind, he rushed outside and held a hand near Kaida's forehead, cradling the unconcious girl in his lap. The other girls crowded around him._

_"What is it, what is it?"_

_"She's very sick. Come on, you three." He picked up Kaida and beckoned to Jitoru, Kohaku and Akumi. They looked uncertain._

_"Sensei-sama..."_

_"Doesn't matter, come on." Then his expression softened. "The plan was for you three to come and live with me, anyway. Come on now." They followed._

* * *

_Kaida got better (eventually). Akira, the one who helped heal her, diagnosed it as a slight relapse of her original illness. And all four Shukumei girls were together, for the first time since they were two._

_"It's been a year since we met again,"mused Akumi, sitting at the case of the apple tree in the back yard. Kohaku sat in the swing dangling from it, Kaida sat in the higher branches, and Jitoru in the lower branches._

_"Very true," replied Kaida._

_"Hard to believe," added Kohaku._

_"Yea...can't imagine life without you guys now," said Jitoru._

_"Akira and Bon-bon are gone, though..."_

_"Muramasa said they went somewhere, and that we'll be older when we see them next."_

_"How old is older??"_

_"I dunno..."_

* * *

_"Whoa!" screeched Kohaku, twirling her new _naginnata(it's sort of like a spear, with slightly curved blade. For reference, search up Saisei on wikipedia) _ her, made of oak and steel and unbreakable, the Muramasa Kikuyone was one of the finest blades Muramasa had fashioned, one of his demonblades._

_"Yeah, yea...Shut up, Haku-chan," retorted Akumi halfheartedly, pleased with her own weapon, as well--another one of Muramasa's demonblades, a ogama called Satsujintai. _

_"DON'T CALL ME HAKU IT'S A BOY'S NAME!" yelled Kohaku, instantly charging at Akumi, twirling her naginata._

_Akumi blocked with the scythe-like part of her weapon, them attempted to throw the weighted chain around her sister's legs, tripping the older girl. Kohaku jumped, avoiding the chain and pressed the blade of her naginata back. _

_Kaida's eyes flashed icy blue. _

_Kohaku was winning the battle of strength._

_Both of them were suddenly seperated, their weapons spinning through the air(narrowly missing Jitoru, who was admiring her three shaku long fan, with razor sharp edges, which was light and could be used as a boomerang-type thing, with her element of wind, and also to cool herself off) and thunking into trees. Kaida stood between them, both katana and sakabato at their necks. Fortunately, they were sheathed..._

_All three younger girls yelled, "Kaida-nee-chan, you could have killed us!"_

_"No. My blades were sheathed, and you, Jitoru, were slightly out of the weapons' path. None of you were in any danger," answered Kaida smoothly, her eyes flashing back to a calm sapphire blue.(which isn't very dark, I wear one.) She stuck her swords back into the two loops in her belt, worn low on her hips._

_"Even so, Kaida...I didn't give you all demonblades just so you would all kill each other..." said Muramasa, taking Akumi's and Kohaku's weapons out of the trunks and deftly swiping his oldest student's new blades. "Maybe you're too young..."_

_All four immediately yelled, "Hell no!"_

_Muramasa chuckled lightly and returned the weapons. _

* * *

_ It was a quiet night, and the crickets were chirping. The crescent moon hung low in the sky. Mibu Muramasa looked at his four sleeping students, his gaze lingering on the eldest and his favorite. He would miss all of them..._

_An hour later, he was gone._

* * *

_"So...he's gone." Kaida's voice was unmistakeably calm, features emotionless._

_"How can you say that with a straight face?!" demanded Kohaku._

_Kaida blinked, and turned away. _

* * *

_"So...the traitor Muramasa has indeed left the Fire Country..."_

_"Yes, my lord."_

_"His influence on Kaida will have to be negated. Seperate her from her sisters and place her in the 'dark room'."_

_"Yes, Shukumei-sama." _

* * *

_A couple of years later... _

_"Otou-chan's getting REMARRIED????!!!!!!" screamed Akumi. _

_"To who?" queried Jitoru._

_"To whom, 'toru. Proper grammar is 'essential to the fourth-in-line to the Shukumei Clan'," Kohaku teased, eyes bright._

_"Shukumei Mikoto, a distant cousin's of okaa-sama," answered Kaida quietly._

_"I don't want another mom," complained Akumi._

_"Do we have a choice?"_

* * *

_"Hello, girls," said Mikoto cheerfully. _

_"Hey, okaa-san!" Akumi grinned, while Kohaku and Jitoru looked wary. Kaida just looked resigned. She hadn't been sleeping well, noted both Mikoto and Akumi. Shadows gathered under the Shukumei heir's dark blue eyes on her paler-than-usual skin, and she looked like a ghost in her black-blue kimono._

_"So, tell me about yourselves, girls. I want to be the best mother possible to you, for my best friend, Kokoro-chan."_

_"Well, Kohaku has mood swings, Jitoru loves art, Kaida's allergic to both sunscreen and sunburn..." _

* * *

_The wedding... _

* * *

_"And this is my eldest, Kai."_

_Kaida, dressed like a boy again in a fancy black and cream kimono and hakama, looked exactly the part of bored, antisocial pretty boy heir of a great clan._

_"Lovely. This is my heir, Hinata. Hinata, say hello to Kai."_

_Hinata bowed shyly. "O-ohayo gozaimsu, Kai-san."_

_"Ohayo gozaimasu, Hinata-dono." Kaida bowed._

_While the adults walked away, Hinata looked at Kaida curiously. "Y-you look like a girl," she said in a small voice. Kaida shrugged, then gave the timid Hyuuga heir a tiny smile._

_"Really?" Interesting... "What, you've never seen a boy this pretty before?"_

* * *

_"You've got to switch Kaida-chan to another room!"_

_"No."_

_"She's miserable. Please!"_

_In the pitch black darkness that was her room, Kaida, huddled in a tiny bundle, listened. She wasn't completely miserable...sometimes, her sisters visited, with light, since whenever she was sent to her room, she was robbed of her Chosen powers, which meant no fire. And when they did, they'd sit and tell her what was going on outside, and interesting things like that..._

_Her hope was restored every time they came. _

_She loved her sisters... _

* * *

And there you go. The rest, from ages 10-16, will be told in flashbacks, since there's nothing of interest in it. 

Sorry this was so late, I've been struggling with high school. -sheepish-

Ah, kawaiiSei-chan, can you stop bothering me now???

Please review, thanks,

--Kuroi

Revision--

Preview of next chappie--

_"Is she awake yet, Sakura?" _

_"No, Tsunade-sama. She should have by now though...and she's so pale, no one is that pale."_

_"Strange...perhaps when the others wake up, they'll have information."_

_Sakura looked from the peaceful face of Shukumei suzaku-no-suke Kaida to her mentor's._

_"If I didn't know you better, Tsunade-sama, I'd say you're getting rather attached to Kai-chan."_

_Tsunade didn't reply, but cast one last glance at Kaida's sleeping face, so like her friend Hikari's._

_Under closed eyelids, Kaida was thinking. Where was she? This didn't seem like either heaven or hell, and if this was either, why did her she hurt so much? The voice named Tsunade--it sounded like Mikoto-san. Her step-mom..._


End file.
